Corruption

A 2011 report by Transparency International concluded that although corruption is not endemic, police corruption in UK is a much greater problem than recognised and that there was an inadequate response to its growing threat.[1]

Policy Priorities

in 2015, Sara Thornton, the head of the new National Police Chiefs' Council stated that while burglary was an important crime for police, police man not visit burglaries in future. Pointing to financial cuts, she added "think of the threat to our children from sexual offences, from sexual abuse, from online abuse, that's what we've got to prioritise."[2]

Activities

Mass Surveillance

UK police have collected more than 19 million mugshot photos of suspects (i.e. presumed innocent people), a practice which was deemed unlawful in 2012.[3]Lord Justice Richards said: “It should be clear in the circumstances that a ‘reasonable further period’ for revising the policy is to be measured in months, not years.” However, in 2017 their retention was retroactively legalised, by a UK Home Office review which gave people the responsibility to request the police delete them - a request that the UK police may deny if they claim the images are needed "for a policing purpose".[4]

Intolerance of criticism

In 2018, Breitbart News reported that "Britain’s police have stumbled into another public relations disaster after threatening to track down and prosecute Facebook users for ridiculing them."[5]

Drones

In 2017, the first UK police force announced plans for a "24-hour police drone unit".[6]

Examples

Related Quotation

“Despite widespread evidence to the contrary, including a PREVENT training presentation from the police describing anti-fracking protesters as extremists, the police argued in court that anti-fracking protesters were not viewed in this way.”